


Help Me Hold On

by teamchasez



Category: NASCAR - Fandom, NASCAR RPF, Paul Menard - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 04:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16032566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teamchasez/pseuds/teamchasez
Summary: Paul finally realizes his marriages is worth holding onto, but will his wife help?





	Help Me Hold On

**Author's Note:**

> This is a song fic written to "Help Me Hold On" by Travis Tritt. This was written in 2009.

_Baby close that suitcase you've been packin'  
Just sit down and talk to me awhile  
I know you tried to tell me what was lackin'  
But I guess I must have missed it by a mile  
Well this time girl I swear to you I'll listen  
Help me understand where I went wrong  
It's hard to find myself in this position  
Scared that I'll go crazy once your gone_

 

“Come on Emily, please close that suitcase,” Paul Menard pleaded with his wife of four years. He’d just got back from a long weekend at the track. The race was rained out on Sunday, so they raced on Monday, pushing everyone at the shop back a day. He was hoping he’d come home to spend a romantic night with his wife, but he found himself pleading with her not to leave him. 

Emily ignored her husband, didn’t even look at him for fear she’d give in. She silently brushed the tear from her cheek and folded a pair on hip hugger jeans and shoved them into the suitcase. 

“Em, baby, please don’t do this. Just sit down and talk to me awhile,” A lump rose in Paul’s throat. This was serious. Emily was really going to leave him. She had his attention now.

“Paul, I have tried talking with you,” Emily whispered, her voice catching. Still, she walked to the closet grabbing shirts to pack. 

“I know you have. You tried to tell me what I was lacking,” Paul walked a couple steps into the room. “I missed it by a mile. Em, this time I’ll listen. I swear to you baby. Please help me understand where I went wrong.”

“Paul…” 

“Emily, please,” Paul said almost begging his wife. “You have to help me.” He walked to his wife on the other side of the room. He brought his hand up to touch her face, but it dropped lonely to his side when she moved away. “It’s hard to see myself in this position. Emily, I’ll go crazy with you gone.” 

 

_Help me hold on...to what we had  
Once our love was strong, it can be again  
You said it takes two, to make love last  
You were right all along so help me hold on_

 

“Am I the only one holding on,” Paul questioned his wife. He had to make her see what she was doing. “Emily, help me hold on to what we had. Remember how strong our love was? Em, it can be again.”

_*Flashback*_

_“Lets go,” Emily grabbed her husband’s hand and they both walked towards pit road for qualifying. She usually waited in the coach during qualifying, but today was different. Today she had to stand by her husband._

_“You’re coming with me? Paul asked surprised. Emily hardly went to his car with him for qualifying._

_“Of course I am,” Emily looked over at Paul and smiled. She smiled drew straight when she noticed the stares people were casting towards them mainly to her husband. “I love you and I want everyone to know that no matter what you do I am always going to love you, Paul. People can stare all they want, they can think I’m crazy, but I will always be with you no matter what you do. Our love is strong and no one will or can break it.”_

_“I love you Emily, now more than ever. Paul smiled as he leaned down and kissed his wife in the middle on the garage area. She was right, people could talk about him all they want, it didn’t matter to him, what mattered was standing beside him._

_*End flashback*_

Emily cried silently as she remembered that day. Paul had been going through some rough times, with his team, his contract and people questioning his ability to drive a race car. 

“Remember that Emily? Remember how you said it takes two, to make love last?” Paul asked again.

_*Flashback*_

_“Damnit Emily, I said I was sorry,” Paul yelled in frustration as he stumbled into their bedroom after having a few beers with the guys. He was only meant to have a few, but a few turned into a lot. And the couple hours he was only supposed to be out ended up half the night._

_“Saying it and meaning it are two different things,” Emily followed yelling. “It’s enough that I have to worry about you on the track, but now I have to worry about you when you go out? What ever happened to, I don’t know what time I’ll get home, and I’ll give you a call and let you know. Or I should be home around 10:30-11, if I’ll be late, I’ll give you a call. I’ve been worried sick, Paul! You were supposed to be home four hours ago!”_

_“Emily, I’m sorry. I left my phone in the truck,” Paul laid down on top of the bed, dressed and all. “Can we talk about this tomorrow?”_

_“And no one else had a phone?” Emily crossed her arms. “You know Paul; this isn’t going to work with one person doing on the trying. It takes two, to make love last.” She looked at her husband, she didn’t know if he was awake or not. She shook her head and left the room._

_*End flashback*_

“Emily, you were right all a long. It takes two to make love last. Please, baby, help me hold on to our love, our marriage, our life,” Paul pleaded.

 

_What have I got to do to make it better?  
What have I got to do to make you see  
That even though I promised you forever  
I never knew how hard that would be  
I realize I took your love for granted  
But I've learned that love worth havin' don't come free  
And I'll pay any price it takes to keep you  
Satisfied and stayin here with me..._

_You were right all along  
So help me hold on_

 

“What have I got to do to make it better? What have I got to do to make you see?” Paul took Emily’s hand in his as she cried softly. He wanted to take her in his arms and rock her, brush away the tears. But he had to get through to her. “Emily, I promised you forever and I’m gonna keep that promise, but when I made that promise, I didn’t know how hard it would be.”

_*Flashback*_

_“Paul, you gonna be with me and love me forever and forever?” Emily asked as she lay in the hammock on the porch overlooking Lake Norman._

_“What brought this question on?” Paul walked up the steps from the yard._

_“I was just thinking.”_

_“Well quit thinking,” Paul grinned as he climbed in the hammock next to his wife. “I will always be here with you. I’ll never leave you. I will always love you forever and forever. I promise you, all the days of my life and many more.”_

_*End flashback*_

“Emily, I realize now, that I took your love for granted. I always thought that you’d be here for me no matter what. No matter what happens on Sundays, what I do to mess up, that you’ll always be here. I never once imagined you not in my life,” Paul whispered in Emily’s ear as he held her to him. “But now I learned that love worth having doesn’t come free. I’d give all this up, the fame, money, racing, if it means that I get to keep you satisfied and staying with me. Em, everything you’ve said is right. You’ve been right all along. Help me hold on,” the last sentence came out in barely a whisper. He wasn’t sure if Emily even heard it even though he was whispering in her ear. 

Emily turned around and looked at him. Paul held his breath afraid what she was going to say. She looked so fragile staring at him, her eyes red and puffy, tears streaming down her cheeks. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms to kiss away her pain. 

“Paul,” Emily’s voice cracked and she looked down to the floor. “You love racing. I don’t want you to give that up.”

“Emily, if it means I get to keep you then I will. I would give it up in a heartbeat,” Paul didn’t like the way this conversation was going. Why wasn’t she seeing his pain here? Why wasn’t she fighting harder for them?

“Paul, I don’t care about—“

“Emily, I love you. Why can’t you see that? I won’t let you go. I won’t let you walk about of my life. I need you. I’m nothing without you. You’re my life. You’re the reason that I have all these things. They are for you the house, the car, the boat…”

Emily brought up her hand, putting one finger on Paul’s lips, silencing him. “Paul, I don’t care about all this. The big house, all the expensive cars, the boat…these all mean nothing to me. You’re the most important one. You don’t have to give me these gifts to make me love you, I already do. You don’t have to do all these to keep me around. I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to buy all those things to make me happy because being with you and loving you already do.”

“Emily,” Paul started, a smile growing on his face, but Emily silenced him again.

“If we lived in a trailer, drove an old beat up Chevy, I’d still love you as long as I knew that I would be sleeping next to you at night.” Emily smiled, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I love you, Paul.”

“I love you too Emily,” Paul pulled her to him, wrapping his arms tightly around her. He smiled when he heard her sigh and felt her wrap her arms around him, leaning into him more. “But Emily, one thing…”

“What’s that?” Emily looked up at him, searching his eyes for something wrong.

“We’d drive an old Ford, not a Chevy. Sponsor issues,” Paul grinned.

“Oh you,” Emily chuckled, slapping his chest. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Help me hold on,” Paul said seriously.

“I’m never letting you go,” Emily whispered leaning up and capturing his lips with hers.


End file.
